Allmusic / Biography by Bruce EderQuintessencewas among the first true progressive rock outfits signed by IslandRecords. Led by Australian-born Shiva Shankar Jones (keyboards, vocals)and Raja Ram (flute, violin, percussion), the group also included AlanMostert (lead guitar), Sambhu Babaji (bass), Maha Dev (guitar), and JakeMilton (drums), all of whom, in addition to a common interest in Indianmusic, also shared the Hindu faith. The groups roots lay in the hippiecommunity in the Notting Hill area, which was to London roughly whatHaight-Ashbury was to San Francisco. Their breakthrough performance tookplace at a festival called Implosion, where they put on a good enoughshow to get noticed by Island Records, which signed them and got theirdebut LP, an elaborately packaged concept album entitled In BlissfulCompany, out before the end of the year. Its mix of rock, jazz, andIndian elements was popular enough at the time with their core audience,especially one track entitled Notting Hill Gate, a tribute to thehippie community, which found a slightly wider audience; the bandsubsequently recut the song in a more pop-oriented rendition as asingle. The group had a strong reputation from their live work, andtheir early recordings seemed to build from this base. Quintessencescareer reached its commercial peak with their self-titled second album,which got to number 22 on the U.K. charts. They did one more album forIsland and then jumped to RCAs new British progressive rock Neonimprint for two LPs in the early 70s. Jones departed soon after therelease of the groups second album for the new label, and they split upnot long after that. In 1973, Jones became part of the big-bandprogressive outfit Kala, which recorded one album for the Bradleyslabel, and in subsequent decades he restarted his own version ofQuintessence.

1969 In Blissful CompanyOriginal Release:Tracks 1 to 8 originally released as (UK) Island ILPS 9100 in 1969Tracks 9 & 10 originally released as single (UK) Island WIP 6075, 1970Allmusic / Review by Chris NicksonWhileits easy to dismiss Quintessences first album, In Blissful Company,as hippie-dippy nonsense, that would be throwing the baby out with thebath water. Granted, there are several moments when the mix of jazz-rockand Indian influence go well over the top, as on Ganaga Mai, and noone is going to mistake these guys for, say, Shakti. But they were stillfar ahead of their time, if you consider this from more of a worldmusic perspective. And theres pleasure to be had from Notting Hill(in both versions - the CD appends the very different single version,plus the non-album B-side, Move Into the Light). Theres no doubt theybelieved in what they were doing, and lead guitarist Alan Mostert doesadd some stirring lines into the mix under Raja Rams vocals and flute.Its certainly pleasant, progressive in its own way, and while theres acertain sloppiness and muddiness to much of the playing (in best hippiefashion), that actually adds to its appeal in a perverse way. They diddevelop over the course of four more albums, but never became a majorattraction, and in some regards this remains a high point.

1970 QuintessenceOriginal Release:Tracks 1 to 11 originally released in 1970 (Album Quintessence by Quintessence, catalog# ILPS 9128)Track 12, not present in original album, is a bonus track from 1970s compilation Bumpers by various artists, catalog# IDP 1Allmusic / Review by Richie UnterbergerWhileQuintessences second album had a guileless sincerity to its spiritualstriving that was uncommon in pop music, its very much a relic of itshippie age. The good points An uncalculated, genuine wish to bothreflect the eras ideals and to use its music as a tool to achieve them,as well as a willingness to blend aspects of jazz, Indian music, andreligious invocation into an overall psychedelic-progressive rockstructure (complete with flute and some acid rock guitar). The badpoints An absence of conventional songwriting chops, exacerbated by thebands tendency to ramble on in formless jam-like passages, thoughactually none of the tracks here exceed six minutes. Certainly itseclectic, with a commune-like vibe permeating the proceedings, thoughthe recordings quite professional. Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Gaurangasounds rather akin to the Were Only in It for the Money-era Mothers ofInvention, though minus any hint of satire or irony in the over-the-topbeatific lyrics. Overall, though, it feels a little like listening tothe house rock band of a pan-religious cult that doesnt have anythingof particular value to sell. The 2004 CD reissue on Repertoire adds alive version of Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Gauranga (originally released onthe first pressing of the 1970 Island compilation Bumpers) as a bonustrack.

1971 Dive DeepOriginal Release: Island UK ILPS 9143Allmusic / Review by Sharon MawerInthe early 70s, progressive rock was heading in several differentdirections. There was the ultra-classical influenced Emerson, Lake &Palmer which ultimately ended in overblown performances that became toocomplicated for the casual pop or rock fan to enjoy, there were thebands that became heavier and more song-orientated like Deep Purple, andthen there were the bands that had religion at their heart, mainlyEastern religions, the Incredible String Band and Quintessence fell intothis latter category with all its members devotees of the Hindu faith,unusual at the time for Westerners. Dive Deep, Quintessences thirdalbum, was effectively more of what had come before, with longinstrumental passages, sometimes with definable themes and sometimessounding as if the band had instructions to jam and see what happened.Not afraid to stretch their songs to around the ten-minute mark, therewere only six tracks - of which Epitaph for Tomorrow had a guitar solorunning through it and which could be described as the forerunner ofTubular Bells -- and the final track, Sri Ram Chant, made liberal useof the sitar, Raja Rams flute, Indian rhythms throughout, and a mantramentioning Krishna at every opportunity. Much simpler was the titletrack, Dive Deep, which opened the album and owed more to 60s folkthan prog or religious rock. This led into the 11-minute track Dancefor the One with a six-minute intro of meandering flute, never oncemanaging a recognizable tune. Quintessence never made it into the bigleague, and this was not totally surprising based on the evidence ofDive Deep, which was their final album for Island before trying theirluck on the newly founded Neon label (part of the RCA group and home towhat RCA hoped what be their progressive equivalent of Harvest, Vertigoor Deram). Apart from one further week at number 50 in the charts withthe album Self, Quintessence never really happened and the internalarguments that led the group to split increased.

1972 SelfOriginal Release:UK RCA Victor SF8273Tracks 01-08 1972 Sony BMG Music Entertainment Ltd.Tracks 09-10 1971 Sony BMG Music Entertainment Ltd.Allmusic / Review by Dave ThompsonBy1972, the magical aura that once surrounded Quintessence had long sincedissipated, just as the band itself had shed much of the evocativepanache that characterized their greatest moments. One more album on theunfamiliar pastures of RCA was not going to correct their decline, butSelf emerged a delight regardless, chiefly courtesy of the live secondside that caught the band in full flight at Exeter University. Despitebeing just two songs long (Freedom and Water Goddess), theperformance rolls back the years so effectively that the faintlyworkaday weight of side one is barely even relevant to the albumsglory. There, of course, the bands customary blending of Indian mantraand jazzy heartbeats is as eclectic as ever, and the only downside isthat the group has not really moved on from its original vision.

1972 IndwellerOriginal Release: UK RCA Victor SF8317cherryred.co.ukEsotericRecordings add to their recent reissue of Quintessences first albumfor RCA Records with this, their final vinyl outing from 1972. Hailingfrom the heart of Londons alternative underground society in NottingHill, Quintessence were inspired by Eastern philosophy and spiritualteachings creating a unique fusion of Psychedelia, Jazz and Ethnic Rock.Indweller saw them continue their musical explorations in this vein,creating a classic of the Progressive / Acid Rock genre. The Esotericre-mastered edition was produced from the original analogue master tapesand features a booklet with liner notes and new essay.

01 Jesus My Life02 Butterfly Music03 Its All The Same04 Indweller05 Holy Roller06 Portable Realm07 Sai Baba08 On The Other Side Of The Wall09 Dedication10 Bliss Trip11 Mother Of The Universe

After Quintessence: The Complete Kala Recordings 1973

Original Release:Tracks 01-08 from the 1973 LP KalaTracks 09-10 from the 1973 LP Bradleys Roadsbow: Live At The MarqueeTracks 11-12 Live in 1973 (previously unreleased)Tracks 13-14 feature new vocals from Phil Shiva Jones (previously unreleased)huxrecords.comDigitallyremastered collection of tracks from this 70s band formed by formermembers of Quintessence (vocalist Phil Shiva Jones and guitarist DaveMaha Dev Codling). Featuring two previously unreleased live tracks andtwo brand new vocal takes, this CD debut of Kalas complete works hasbeen compiled with the full co-operation of Phil and Dave. In June thisyear, Shiva and Daves reformed Quintessence will be performing at the40th Glastonbury Festival - 40 years after storming the very first.